1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cassettes for containing electrical connector components and to apparatus for feeding the components from cassettes.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
There is an ever-increasing need for automated feeding and terminating equipment for electrical connectors in order to reduce labor costs and increase speed and reliability. Automatic equipment used for these purposes is complex and expensive due to the difficulties encountered in handling individual electrical connector components. Since contact spacings and the size of electrical connectors are decreasing with the trend toward miniaturization, the problems of shipping, storage and automatic handling of connector components are increased.
One type of electrical connector is assembled in stages. In an intermediate condition, terminals associated with the connector are partly inserted into the connector housing. Portions of the terminals extend from the housing and are terminated to conductors before the terminals are fully inserted into a final position within the housing. The connectors may be produced, shipped and stored in the intermediate assembly stage, and then must be oriented and fed to automatic or partly automatic terminating machinery. With this type of connector, problems are encountered not only due to the difficulty of orienting and feeding the connectors, but also due to the vulnerability of the exposed portions of the delicate terminals which extend from the housing in the intermediate assembly condition. Premature insertion of terminals from the intermediate to the final position must be prevented.